Insurance companies are using paramedics who have attended the scene of car accidents to help defeat bogus and exaggerated compensation claims.

A circuit court in Castlebar, Co Mayo, has dismissed three personal injury actions after hearing evidence from two paramedics who told the judge James O’Donoghue that they saw no damage to a vehicle involved in a collision on the Tuam Road, Galway, in August 2014.

Legal sources believe it is the first time a judge has allowed a paramedic to give evidence about the damage sustained by a vehicle during a personal injury action. The witnesses explained that they assess all vehicles at crash sites to ascertain the type of injuries the driver or passengers may have suffered.

Following the evidence provided by the…

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